Internal combustion engines require clean working fluids (e.g., air, fuel, engine oil, hydraulic fluid, etc.) for efficient operations. Accordingly, filters (e.g., air filters, fuel filters, engine oil filters, hydraulic fluid filters, etc.) are utilized to provide clean working fluids to internal combustion engines. The filters have a limited lifecycle and are often replaced with replacement filters during routine servicing of the internal combustion engines. The use of sub-par replacement filters (e.g., non-OEM filters, counterfeit filters, etc.) can lead to reduced engine system performance and possibly engine failure.
In certain situations, customers request the use of sub-par replacement filters to save money. In other situations, customers request the use of genuine replacement filters during engine servicing operations, but are instead unknowingly given generic filters, non-OEM filters, or counterfeit filters. In these situations, the customers may be charged full price for genuine replacement filters without knowledge of the non-genuine replacement filters being used. Accordingly, filter manufacturers utilize various forms of Engine Integrity Protection (EIP) to prevent the use of non-genuine replacement filters. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,114,182, 8,105,483, 7,959,714, 7,850,845, 7,615,151, 7,192,463, 6,537,444, and 6,533,926 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0308396 disclose various mechanical EIP systems (e.g., systems that require uniquely mating mechanical parts to function properly) and analog EIP systems (e.g., resistor based systems that determine filter genuineness based on detected voltage changes). Each of the above recited patent and patent application documents are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. An exemplary analog EIP method is shown in FIG. 7.
However, the current mechanical and analog EIP systems may require expensive tooling, may take up excessive packaging space, and/or may be easily counterfeited. Accordingly, there is a need for digital EIP systems to prevent installation of sub-performing and counterfeit filters during servicing operations of internal combustion engines.